Sushi’s ‘Fresh Sound’ Music Series Blends Big Brother And A Golden Voice

Already over downtown’s latest influx of oontz-oontz? Hit up the latest offerings from Bonnie Wright’s meticulously curated Fresh Sound Music series tonight at Sushi Performance and Visual Art for an edgy alternative. Where else will you find a honey-voiced soprano and an Orwellian take on the turntables?

Grammy-winning soprano (and UCSD professor) Susan Narucki, who’s harmonized with the MET Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, will present a set called “Bending the Voice,” featuring works by John Cage and undulating between spoken word and song. Considering Narucki’s opera roots (her portrayal of “Mama” in Elliot Carpenter’s “What’s Next?” earned a “luminous” from The New York Times), it’s sure to be stunning.

The evening also features sound artist Margaret Noble, who cut her teeth DJing in international underground clubs—which begat numerous awards for her experimental compositions and a monthly, Vogue-lauded showcase in her hometown of Chicago.

Now locally based, Noble will touch on today’s big brother media mentality in her “1984”-inspired presentation. An original 1953 vinyl radio recording of the George Orwell classic will commingle with melodies culled from clips of surveillance cameras, US news broadcasts and political propaganda, while Noble herself will interject live spoken excerpts from "1984."

“The news, the media debates and the ringing similarities between the fears in the text versus the fears people have today are what inspired this,” says Noble, who notes that the project in its entirety won’t be available in album form until later this spring.

Noble calls the experience “sound theatre,” which is fitting, considering it takes eight speakers in full surround and a jukebox of aural oddities (An analogue synth! A bowed psaltry! A kalimba!) to produce (don’t worry if you can’t ID those—that’s the point).

Fresh Sound Music commences later this month, so swing by Sushi stat—we think its quirky, quixotic offerings are the ideal antidote to any lingering post-holiday doldrums.

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